Heritage
by Aurora Hecate
Summary: AU.Ever since Kagome was a little girl her grandfather has been telling her ridiculous legends, but could there be truth hidden beneath his tales of demons and magic?
1. The Rickety Old Shit Bucket

AN: Okay, this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so try not to laugh too hard and please don't flame me. If you don't like my writing then piss off and read something else. Anywho, sorry if the spelling and grammer sucks, it only sucks because _my _spelling and grammer suck. And if you find anything wrong (like my use spelling, grammer, or of Japanese) _please_ let me know. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters from the series, nor have I ever, and sadly nor _will _I ever.

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**Heritage**

**Chapter 1**

**The Rickety Old Shit Bucket

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The waves crashed against the hull of the large ship, causing the boat to rock from one side to the other. They were surrounded by the dark waters on all sides as far as the eye could see. The waves rolled over the surface of the ocean never once breaking. Endless blue, the sky seemed to disappear into the waters as if there were no horizon, as if nothing could break the cycle of blue overlaying blue. The only thing that kept the sky from effectively merging with the ocean were the waves that constantly battered the hull of the ship. Blue, everywhere one looked all they saw was the vast expanse of blue, and furthermore that was all they had seen ever since they had set off.

The endless spread of blue was beginning to wear on Kagome Higurashi's already frayed nerves. She silently prayed for even the tiniest wisp of cloud to come and break up the endless blue, she prayed even more that when she looked once more towards the horizon that there would be the stretch of land they were sailing towards.

Kagome cursed silently when an exceptionally large wave crashed into the side of the ship, causing her to stumble and bang her shin against the wooden post that held up the railing. Glaring at said post as if it was the cause of all her problems she aimed to give it a good kick to show it who exactly was in charge. As her foot connected with the wooden post it slipped on a wet spot and ended up glancing off to the side of the post. The momentum of her kick-and-miss caused her to fall forward, resulting in her stomach colliding with the railing and knocking the air from her lungs. With a pained 'ompf', she grabbed the railing tightly and pushed herself up and away from the accursed thing.

It had been three days since they had set off from port, a few hours after that they had lost sight of the coast, and halfway through the first day they had seen the last ocean faring bird and they still had yet to see any form of life. More than anything Kagome wished to set foot on dry land once more, even if it was on foreign land. Three days they had been sailing towards the foreign lands of Japan, three days they had been sailing away from home…away from her family. Although she had been born on the island and was of Japanese descent, it wasn't home. Home was back at the manor with her mother, grandfather, and younger brother. Souta, she would have given anything just to have her little brother accompany her on her visit to her 'homeland'. He may be one of the most annoying people on the face of the planet, but she missed him dearly. She still did not understand why her mother and grandfather insisted that she travel back to the land where she had been born by herself…all alone. Well, insist wasn't really the word…and it had mainly been her grandfather doing the '_insisting'_. He had been adamant on her going on this journey, and he had been even more adamant on her going alone. Her grandfather was still very deeply rooted in the ways of the Japanese. Telling both her and her brother ridiculous legends of demons and other equally ludicrous things when they were younger, he had even gone as far as making them both learn the Japanese language.

Without really thinking her gaze rose once more to the place where the ocean met the sky. Her knuckles turned white as she increased the strength of her grip on the railing and took in a shaky breath. She did not want to be on this ship sailing towards an unfamiliar and foreign land, she did not want to stay on the foreign island for a year, and she most certainly did not want to do it _alone_. Letting out the shaky breath she had taken in, in an equally shaky sigh Kagome closed her eyes and attempted to compose herself.

It was not true that she would be alone, no, she would be staying with an old friend her grandfather's. He had said that while he had grown up on the island and through his adulthood they had been very close friends. Even now they kept up a constant correspondence. He had said that she would be safe staying with his life long friend as she learned more of her heritage.

Leave it to her grandfather to send her hundreds of miles away from home just so that she could learn more about her _heritage_. When she had argued that she could learn about her heritage just as well from home than some godforsaken island out in the middle of nowhere, he had calmly told her that her heritage and the history of her people was a significant part of her being, and that in order to truly learn about the land and its people she must experience them first hand. Kagome had then made the mistake of telling her grandfather that it was not _her _history and that they were not _her _people. She had never seen her grandfather so angry before in her entire life. He took great pride in his heritage and expected her to at least respect hers'. Her grandfather rarely raised his voice at anyone and the fact that he not only raised it towards her, but that he was yelling at her, caused Kagome to give in to his 'request', all be it very reluctantly.

"Miss Higurashi?" a deep voice called from behind her.

Kagome jump slightly and blushed at being so caught up in her thoughts that she had not sensed his approach. Blushing madly Kagome sent the 'evil-sinister-death-railing' an angry glare, blaming it for her embarrassment, and turned around to face the young man standing before her. He was of average height, standing almost a head taller than her, and he had short brown hair that matched his brown eyes. He wore a pair of comfortable looking baggy tan pants and a white tunic. The sleeves of the tunic had been ripped off giving Kagome a good look at well defined muscles on his arms. All together he was a very good looking man. When he cast her a charming smile Kagome could feel her cheeks start to burn once more.

"Miss, the captain wishes for you to return to your cabin," he said in the same deep voice she had heard seconds before.

Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion and opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but was cut-off by the young man standing in front her.

"He says, Miss, that you are proving to be a bigger distraction for his men than he previously thought," He explained, his face still adorned with the same charming smile.

Glancing away from the young man standing in front of her she noticed that, indeed, many members of the crew were discretely glancing up at her, some were outright staring at her. This was the major down side to being the only female aboard a ship that was traveling long distances. Shivering slightly under their gazes she looked back at the man in front of her. Giving him a small smile, she blushed when his own smile widened in return.

"Thank you for telling me…" She began.

"Hojo, Miss," He quickly provided.

"…Hojo," She repeated with a nod of her head.

Kagome sent Hojo a small smile before turning away from him and heading towards the doors that led below the deck to her quarters. As she reached the doors she stopped and turned to look at Hojo when he called out her name.

"The captain believes it is in your best interest, Miss, to stay in your cabin until we reach our final destination," Hojo called giving her an apologetic smile.

_In other words, I'm to stay out of sight so I don't get molested or raped_, Kagome thought disdainfully. After reassuring Hojo that she would indeed stay in her cabin, Kagome turned and made her way through the doors that led to the cabin in which she was staying for the duration of the sea faring part of her trip.

Kagome stumbled slightly in the narrow passageway and placed her hand on the wall to keep her balance. It always seemed more rocky when she was underneath the deck and she often times had difficulty keeping her balance, resulting in her walking with a hand out and against the wall as she was currently doing. Stumbling forward she made her way to her cabin and quickly pushed the door open. Once inside she shut the door and took in the contents of her newly made prison. The room was almost completely barren save for a few meager pieces of furniture. The cot that served as her bed was pushed up against the right side of the wall and there was a small desk that was pushed up against the wall straight across from the door. Above the desk was a small circular window that helped to give her dismal dwelling a poor amount of light. On top of the desk there was a half melted candlestick and a dull quill for writing. If only she could find some ink and parchment then she could write home. She did have a few sharpened quills and a stack of parchment in the trunk that sat at the foot of her bed, but sadly she had only a sparse amount of ink and that she used to document her days in the journal her mother had given her the day she had left.

With a tired sigh Kagome dropped down onto her 'bed' and lay back. She still did not exactly understand what she was supposed to do when she got to Japan. How was she supposed to learn of her heritage? And _why _did she have to learn of it miles away from _home_? It was then that Kagome concluded that her grandfather was a senile old fool…but then again, she had know that for years.

While Kagome was fully Japanese, she did not consider her self to be Japanese. She did not believe in their beliefs and she most certainly did not believe in their gods. While she had been born on the island she had been raised off of it, in civilized society. She had heard stories from her friends of the barbaric Japanese people. How they still believed in demons, spiritual 'powers', and other such nonsense. On more than one occasion Kagome had denied her Japanese lineage and back home she had often been embarrassed by her grandfather's antics. What would her friends back home think if they knew she was currently on a ship, traveling across a vast expanse of blue towards the barbaric islands of Japan? Staring out the small window Kagome felt her mind begin to drift off and she gladly welcomed the onset of sleep.

_She was running through a thick forest. Branches reached out in attempts to grab her and hold her still, but only succeeded in tearing at her clothes and skin. She was dressed in clothes she had only ever seen pictures of. The white haori billowed out around her arms and the red hakama was as full as any skirt she had ever worn. A strand of straight ebony hair fell loose from it's bindings and obscured her vision. 'Straight? My hair isn't straight!', Kagome thought frantically._

_The snapping of a twig to her left made her flinch slightly and pick up her pace. No time to dwell on such things such as hair, what ever was chasing her was getting closer. But, why was he playing with her? If he wanted to catch her he could have with in the first few moments this game of cat-and-mouse had started. Kagome didn't know why she knew this, she just did._

_Taking in a quick gasp of cold air she felt a stabbing pain in her right side just below her ribs, she was tiring. Her body was growing week, she wouldn't be able to run forever. The only thing that kept her on her feet was her fear, her fear of the thing, the demon, the youkai, that was after her blood. _

_Just up ahead she could see a clearing and beyond that the goshinboku. If she could make it to the god-tree she might be able to live to see another day. Pushing herself she focused solely on the clearing just ahead. With a last great push she erupted from the tree line and came to a stop just inside the clearing. For a brief second, time seemed to slow down. The wind stilled and everything seemed to die down, no noise could be heard from the clearing and its surrounding woods. The moonlight bathed everything in an ethereal glow…and then everything came tumbling down on itself. She felt a sharp unbearable pain and her breath seemed to leave her body. The last thing she saw before the surrounding darkness consumed her were two vibrant red eyes staring down at her in a malicious contempt._

Kagome shot straight up in her bed gasping for breath. Her heart pounded violently in her ears and a cold sweat rolled down her forehead. She was shaking so badly that it scared her. _What the hell had just happened?_ Kagome thought frantically. All she could remember was a feeling of complete terror. It felt as though her heart had risen into her throat and her stomach had dropped out of her body. It was a feeling of utter dread, resignation, and hopelessness. In that brief moment Kagome had never felt so helpless and hopeless as she did then, and it was not a feeling that she relished. It terrified her, but what scared her even more were those red eyes. Those eyes, so absorb with hate, malice, and unreserved revulsion, promised more malevolent intent than anything Kagome had ever seen, heard of, or read about. They scared her more than fear itself.

The sound of someone knocking on the door to her cabin caused Kagome to jump and a whip about to face the door. For what seemed about a millennia Kagome simply stared at the door holding her breath. Letting the air out from her lungs she took a deep breath and swung her legs over the side of the bed. _Don't be stupid, Kagome, it's probably just someone bringing me supper, _she thought shakily. Glancing towards her desk she quickly got up and scrambled to it. Grabbing the quill off the desk she held it in her fist raised above her head. _Just in case, _she thought as she slowly made her way towards the door. Carefully grabbing the cold door handle she slowly, hesitantly began to creek open the old door. Then, with a deep breath to calm her nerves, she wrenched open the door and brought her quill up, ready to strike the unsuspecting rapist/murderer/thief/whatever-the-hell-else-he-was.

"I've got dinn…er…uh…Miss? Why do you have a quill raised above your head?" Hojo asked confused, not aware of what had almost happened to him.

Blushing madly, Kagome quickly hid her hand holding the quill behind her back and let out a nervous laugh. Raising her other hand she nervously waved off his confused stare.

"This? Oh, I was…uh…I was going to write my family, yeah! That's it! Write my family! You know, I just miss them so much and I wanted to let them know how I was doing," Kagome got out as her face turned an even deeper shade of red. _Good going Kagome. What exactly were you planning on doing with a quill? A dull quill no less? Scribble all over him until he dies of ink poisoning? Or were you planning on tickling him to death with the feathery end?_ She thought reproachfully, "You can put the tray down on the desk."

Doing as she instructed, Hojo placed the tray holding her dinner on the desk and turned to flash her an embarrassed smile.

"I hope you get a response from your family, but it is likely that they wont even receive your letter, and if they do you may not receive their reply because of the long distance. However, if you want I can bring it back to port with me and give it to someone going in the direction of your home," He offered with a slight blush.

_Way to lift up my spirits and give me hope, Hobo_, Kagome thought derisively. Plastering on a fake smile she waved off his offer, "No really, it's okay. You're probably right, it wouldn't make it to them."

"That's a wise decision, Miss. Why waste the parchment if you don't know if it will make it there? You should probably save it for something more important…" Hojo replied smiling brightly.

_Yay! More optimism and uplifting words! _Kagome thought heatedly, _And what, pray tell, is more important than my letting my family know that I'm alright and that my corpse isn't lying at the bottom of the ocean, Homo?_

"…like keeping an account of all the new forms of plant life you encounter on the island?" Hojo offered, still smiling like the complete and total idiot he was.

_I shouldn't have asked, _Kagome thought with a bland look in Hojo's direction, _Maybe he's gay…_"Yeah, sure. If you wouldn't mind, Hojo, I'm a little hungry."

"No problem, Miss. Just to let you know, the captain thinks that we will reach the island by late tomorrow morning," Hojo informed her before he turned and quietly left the cabin.

For a moment Kagome stood frozen staring at the cabin's closed door. Sighing she turned to face the desk and took a tentative step towards the tray containing her food. The food that was prepared in the ship's kitchen was known as being a bit…sketchy. If it wasn't burnt beyond recognition, it was frozen solid, and if it wasn't stale and tasteless, it was rancid and often times would stink up her cabin for hours on end. Tightening her hold on the quill once more she raised it above her head, as she reached for the lid covering her food (just in case the cook had forgotten to actually _cook_ the food and it leapt from the tray and proceeded to attack her). Tentatively she raised the lid an inch and when nothing attempted to lunge out at her, she yanked the lid off and jumped backwards holding the lid up as if it were a shield…soup. With a sigh and a nervous laugh she put the lid back down on the desk and sat down in her seat. She gave the soup a wary look as she picked up the spoon. _How bad could they screw up soup?_ Kagome thought and with that thought in mind she dipped the spoon into the soup, raised it to her lips, and took a sip.

_Apparently, very badly, _Kagome thought as she did her best to not throw the tiny sip back up. This could not be soup. It was cold, runny, and oh, how she wished it was tasteless. It vaguely reminded her of that time Souta had jumped on her back causing her to fall face first into a puddle of mud…except the mud had more on the soup, much more. With a resigned sigh Kagome put the spoon back into the soup and brought another spoonful to her mouth. If it was possible the second spoonful was worse than the first. That second spoonful had to be the most revolting, putrid, stomach churning thing she had ever had the displeasure of forcing down. Kagome changed her mind on that thought after each spoonful of the imitation muddy puddle. Somewhere around the twenty-somethingth spoonful Kagome decided that she dared not to see how much more she could force down before she threw it all back up, and she suspected that it would taste even worse coming up, than it had going down. After shoving the offending bowl, along with its contents, away from her, Kagome stared at the bowl hoping that where she was staying in Japan would have better food than this, hell anything tasted better than the crap she had been forcing down the past few days.

_Japan!_ Kagome thought suddenly, _Oh God, we're arriving there tomorrow! I'll finally be off this damned dingy! And into an entirely unfamiliar and foreign place._ This last thought made her shiver involuntarily. Her nerves, fear, and worry had once again returned with the thought of stepping off the boat and into unknown territory.

Shaking off the unsettling feelings Kagome once again laid down on her bed and turned to look out the window. It was comforting knowing that her family was looking up at the same moon as she was. The moon helped her feel less nervous and afraid of what was to come, it was a tie back to home and for that she was eternally grateful.

Once more Kagome found herself standing up on the deck with the rest of the men. This would be the last time Kagome stood staring intently at the horizon aboard the rickety old shit bucket. This time she was not staring at the endless expanse of blue, but instead at the thin expanse of green that was steadily growing closer. At this distance Kagome could see what looked to be a small port. In reality it was the only port on the entire island that allowed foreign vessels to land, visitors were not welcome. She could make out docks, miniature men preparing their ships to go out for a day of fishing, children playing in the streets, and it all excited and terrified her.

She could feel the ship slowing down and finally coming to a stop as it anchored beside a small dock. The men were running around either gathering the goods they had brought with them to sell to the island's inhabitants or busy docking the ship. No one noticed her slip off the ship with the first wave of men and no one paid the girl any attention as she stood their wide eyed and speechless. This was all so much more than what she had been led to believe. Kagome almost missed it when someone called her name.

"Higurashi-san!" The voice called again.

Turning around Kagome looked in the direction the voice was coming from. She could just make out the red and white of miko robes coming in her direction. When the red and white cleared the surrounding crowd and stood before her, Kagome saw that it was an elderly lady. She was short, which were most with Japanese blood, her hair was gray and tied back in a low ponytail. The most striking thing about her appearance was not the bow and arrow she carried with her, but the fact that only one eye was visible, the other was hidden underneath an eye patch. For a few moments the old woman stared at Kagome intently, as if she were looking through her and into her soul, then she gave a warm smile and bowed slightly.

Still smiling warmly at Kagome the old woman introduced herself, "Watashi wa Keade desu,".

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**Vocab:**

haori - Japanese formal coat

hakama - Japanese formal divided skirt

youkai - demon

goshinboku - god tree

miko - shrine maiden, priestess

...-san - suffix placed at the end of names, formal but friendly

Watashi wa...desu - my name is...

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AN: Until next time - A.H. 


	2. No Such Thing As Youkai

AN: So sorry it took this long to update, I've had the chapter done for awhile, but I've been to busy to post it. Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses...Anywho, Cross Country will officialy be over tomorrow (we're going to state!) so I should have more time to update. Well here's the chapter that took so long to finish, hope ya'll like it.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine...too bad though, I bet we could have some real fun together.

**Heritage**

**Chapter 2**

**No Such Thing As Youkai**

Kagome sighed as she sunk down into the warm water of the hot spring. She and Kaede had arrived in Kaede's village early that morning. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon and yet people had already been up and about, tending to the day's chores. There had even been a few children up and helping their parents with chores and such. The villagers had greeted Kaede with reverence, but Kagome could see them sneaking looks at her from their bowed heads and hear them whispering to one another once the cart had passed. She was not entirely welcome here in the village.

It had taken just over two days of traveling to reach Kaede's village and Kagome had never thought she would be so happy to see the shabby little village as she had been. They had set out from the ocean side port as soon as they had gotten help loading Kagome's trunk into the back of the nibasha Kaede had brought with her (Hojo had been more than happy to help, much to Kagome's dismay). She looked forward to sleeping on the futon on the floor of Kaede's small hut, instead of the hard ground she had been forced to sleep on last night.

The village was small, with a little more than two dozen hut. Kaede's own hut was situated at the bottom of a long and steep set of stairs that led up to the village's shrine. Kagome fully intended to explore the shrine and surrounding forest.

The forest itself was huge and surrounded the shrine and village as far as the eye could see. Kaede had explained that the forest was called Inuyasha's Forest and that the woods belonged to an inu youkai. This same youkai protected the village and its inhabitants from other youkai. Kagome had to fight back the urge to laugh when Kaede had told her this. She hadn't thought that Kaede would believe in such ridiculous things such as youkai. Youkai didn't exist and nobody in civilized society believed in them, well besides her grandfather, but he didn't count, he was insane.

Kagome closed her eyes as she leaned back against a large rock. The warm water felt so good on her sore muscles. She was very grateful towards Kaede for showing her this hot spring and she planned on taking advantage of it as much as possible.

Her eyes snapped open and she froze at the sound of a twig snapping in the woods to her left. Sinking farther into the water Kagome stared out into the woods. _Was someone out there?_ She thought franticly. She narrowed her eyes trying to see into the surrounding darkness. Giving her head a quick shake she let out a nervous laugh. She was getting as paranoid as her grandfather, nobody was out there watching her. The sound of another twig breaking quickly proved her wrong. Her heartbeat increased as her back once again stiffened.

"Who's there?" She called out.

_Probably just an animal_, She thought searching the woods for any sign of movement. That thought didn't help to settle her nerves at all. Who knew what type of animals lived out in these woods and whether or not they were friendly.

Kagome let out a nearly inaudible gasp as she saw a flash of red through the branches of the tree line. _Or not. Time to get back to the village,_ Kagome thought as she cautiously made her way out of the hot spring. She quickly slipped on a kimono that Kaede had let her borrow. Gathering her belongings she took one last look at the tree where she had seen the flash of colors before she hurried back to the village.

When she arrived at Kaede's hut Kagome found that the old miko had already gone to sleep. She quickly changed into her night gown and made her way to the futon in the back of the room.

_It was just my imagination, _She thought as she curled up under the covers of her futon,_ Nothing was watching. I'm just overly tired from the ship ride over and then the nibasha ride to the village. There's no such thing as youkai. _

The next morning Kagome was awoken by the sound of someone moving around inside the hut. Opening her eyes she saw Kaede gathering some herbs and wrapping them into a bundle. Confused, she sat up and attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Kaede-san?" Kagome said still rubbing her left eye with the back of her hand.

"Hai, child?" the old miko replied as she tucked the bundle into her haori.

"What are you doing?" She asked still watching the old woman from her position on the futon.

"A villager is sick and it is my duty as a miko to tend the sick," Kaede explained as she watched Kagome stretch, "I am sorry to leave you alone on your first day here, child."

"That's all right. I'll just do some exploring while you're gone," Kagome said while giving Kaede a warm smile.

"Be careful, child. We would not want you to be eaten by a youkai on your first full day at this village," Kaede cautioned as a slight frown adorned her face.

Once more Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes, but instead assured the miko that she would be careful. Kagome watched as Kaede finished gathering everything she would need and then leave the small hut.

Stretching one last time Kagome looked around the now empty room. Not really sure she wanted to wonder through the village alone, and she definitely knew she did not want to go into the woods alone, Kagome decided that this would be the perfect time to go and explore the shrine that was located at the top of all those stairs.

With that decided Kagome quickly changed into a simple light blue dress she had brought from home and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. After eating a quick breakfast, Kagome slipped on a pair of zouri and out of the hut.

The village was already wide awake. Women tended to their homes and children ran through the streets, while the men tended to the fields. As she stepped fully out of the hut and into the bright sunshine, a few of the women looked up from their chores and stared at her. A child bumped into her as he darted away from his mother. Kagome turned and gave him a small smile, the boy quickly turned away and ran back to hide behind his mother's legs. Looking to the mother with an apologetic smile, it was quickly wiped from her face as the woman gave her a hard look and herded her child away. Kagome looked over to a group of women who were mending clothes in time to see them give her a weary look before herding there children away as well. With a determined smile on her face Kagome made her way to the base of the stairs that led up to the village shrine. She would not let these people ruin her day. It was her first in a new place and she intended to make the best of it. The smile quickly disappeared as she stared up at the sheer amount of steps. With a weary sigh Kagome started the long trek up the stairs.

_Sixty-nine…seventy…seventy-one…seventy-two, why are there so many stairs?_ Kagome thought exhausted, _Kaede must be the most in shape old person in all of Japan._

When she finally reached the top of the stairs Kagome was tempted to sit down right then and there and never get up again, but as she looked back in the direction of the stairs that thought was quickly cast out of her mind. Beyond the stairs, the village lay sprawled at the edge of the forest. From this height Kagome could see that the village was larger than she had first suspected. It wasn't that there were more hut, but that the village was spread out to cover a larger distance and the fields only helped to enlarge the overall view. While the village was a sight to behold, it wasn't what had captured Kagome's attention.

Beyond the village the forest, Inuyasha's Forest, spread out as far as the eye could see. It seemed as though there was no end in sight. Amidst the foliage one tree stood high above the rest. Even from this distance Kagome was astounded by the mere size of the giant tree and all the surrounding trees seemed dwarfed by its height. Kagome made a mental note to herself that she would have to make time to go and look at the tree at a closer distance later.

After a few moments passed Kagome turned her eyes to the shrine. The shrine that stood before her was surrounded in an aura of peace and tranquility. Everything about the shrine exuded the Japanese culture, from the sweeping roof with its gentle curves to the intricate carvings above the door and on every pillar. Kagome stood once again in awe, while the shrine was not large by any standards it could not be called small either. To the left of the shrine stood a small sotoba marking a grave.

Curious, Kagome ventured closer and stood before the grave. The sotoba came up to about her waste and was covered in intricate engravings. Reaching out a hand, she gently placed her hand upon the wood of the sotoba. Her heart suddenly felt heavy and a feeling of great sorrow overcame her. Reverently she traced the kanji engraved into the wood. It wasn't until she pulled her hand away from the sotoba that she realized that she was shaking. Trying to calm her self down she took in a deep breath and held it, then let it out as she stepped away from the grave. _Who's buried here?_ She thought somberly. Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the dreary thoughts from her head, she turned away from the grave and made her way towards the shrine.

Spying a broom lying to the side of the entrance, Kagome headed over and picked it up. Kaede would most likely be busy dealing with sick villager for a while, so Kagome decided to busy herself with tidying up the small shrine. _It shouldn't take too long_, she reasoned.

The sun shone brightly overhead, bearing down on the raven-haired girl who stood at the bottom of a steep set of steps. The girl smiled triumphantly as she finished sweeping the last step and placed her free hand on her hip while the other clutched the broom.

_Finished_, Kagome thought as her smile turned into a satisfied grin. It had taken her the better part of three hours to sweep the shrine, its surrounding grounds, and lastly (and the most evil of all in Kagome's opinion) the stairs from hell themselves.

"Higurashi-san," a voice called from behind her.

Still grinning with self-satisfaction, Kagome turned to see Kaede standing in front of her hut with a basket in her arms.

"Go put that broom away and we can eat a quick lunch," Kaede ordered with a slight nod in the direction of the steps.

"Hai, Kaede-san," Kagome answered still grinning, but that grin quickly disappeared as she spied the steps that she would have to trudge up once more. With a slight grimace Kagome began the long ascent of the stairs she had officially labeled as The Stairway From Hell. As she climbed the stairs, she missed the small smile that was sent in her direction before it disappeared into the old woman's hut.

Placing the broom back in front of the shrine entrance she sent a quick glance in the direction of the sotoba. Her breath caught in throat as she saw a flash of red disappearing into the woods. She unconsciously took a step back and nearly screamed as her back came in contact with the wooden wall of the shrine. The small jolt of adrenaline was enough to set her body in motion and in no time she was racing across the shrine grounds and practically flying down the stairs.

Without stopping she burst forward into Kaede's hut and nearly caused the poor woman to have a heart attack. The spoon that had been in Kaede's hand dropped to the ground with a clatter as spun around to face the intruder.

"Child, what on earth has gotten into you?" Kaede asked breathlessly. Upon seeing the terrified girl trembling were she stood Kaede let the spoon lay forgotten and turned her attention to Kagome, "What is wrong, child?"

"There…ther-I…" Kagome stuttered nervously. _Would she believe me?_ Kagome thought nervously,_ That should be obvious, idiot. Of course she'll believe me, she believes in youkai and that kind of stuff, but do I believe me? Maybe I didn't really see that, maybe I was just tired from sweeping all those stairs, maybe the sun got to me, maybe…_

"Child, are you alright? Perhaps you should sit down," Kaede's firm voice cut through Kagome's thoughts, forcing the girl to refocus on her.

"I-I…I saw…" Kagome almost whispered. She paused for a moment to close her eyes and strengthen her resolve, "Nothing. It was nothing, Kaede-san"

Kaede frowned at the girl's answer. She was obviously terrified, but it was also obvious that she did not want to tell her what she saw, or perhaps she did not want to believe what she saw? Shaking her head, Kaede glanced back at the girl standing just before her doorway. Kagome stood nervously in front of her, her hands were wringing that poor dress of hers into a wrinkled mess and if she bit any harder she would most likely pierce through her bottom lip. She would not force the girl to tell her what she saw, it would be revealed to them in due time.

"None the less, you should sit down. You look positively petrified and the soup is almost ready as well," Kaede's request came out more as an order and Kagome found herself seating herself across from the old woman.

With no further comment, Kaede began spooning the soup out of the pot and into two small bowls. Handing one to Kagome and keeping the other to herself, Kaede leaned back to observe the still rattled girl in front of her.

"What were you doing at the shrine?" Kaede asked as she watched the girl simply drag her spoon through the soup.

"I was sweeping. I thought you wouldn't have time to tend to the shrine, since you were tending to the sick villager, so I thought that I could help out a little, and…um…I'll just be quiet now," Kagome responded, still flustered from earlier. _Way to go Higurashi, now she probably thinks you're slow or something,_ She thought as an embarrassed blush crept up her cheeks.

"That was very kind of you," Kaede said, attempting to hold back the smile that had started to creep across her face.

Kagome's face darkened with the compliment, and she dedicated all of her focus on eating her soup, it was actually pretty good, unlike that sorry excuse of soup back on the rust-bucket. A somewhat comfortable silence settled over the two as they finished their small meal. After she had finished her soup, Kagome glanced up at Kaede to find the woman staring at her.

"Kaede-san?" Kagome asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hai, child?" Kaede responded looking Kagome straight in the eyes.

"Ther-there was a grave…up at the shrine," Kagome said averting her eyes and still speaking that overly quiet voice.

"Hai, child, there is a grave near the shrine," Kaede responded still looking at Kagome, prompting the girl to ask the question she knew was coming.

"Who is buried there?" Kagome asked turning her head to meet Kaede's gaze.

Making sure she held the girl's gaze, Kaede responded, "That grave belongs to my sister."

"Gomen nasai," Kagome whispered, once more averting her gaze. _Great, now I've probably gone and brought up bad memories and she probably hates me, now, for being so nosy and…_

"She was this village's miko before myself. The elders respected her for her wisdom, the men revered her for her power, the women envied her for her beauty, and the children loved her for her kind hear," Kaede said staring off into the flames of the dieing fire, "She always felt so alone, and expected it to always be that way. In her heart she believed that in order to be a good miko she must separate herself from the rest of the world, but in her soul she longed to be an average girl and lead a normal life. She never expected to find love, but she did.

"A young man came into her life and my sister believed to have found herself a kindred soul, someone as lonely as she had been. After a time, I truly believe that my sister did fall for the young man, and he returned her sentiments. However, it was not meant to be. The young man turned on her, attempted to take something very close to my sister and failed, but he did not fail in taking her life."

"How tragic," Kagome whispered. To have her life taken away by the one she loved, the thought sent shivers running up and down her spine.

"Hai, that it is." Kaede responded in the same hushed tone.

"What was her name?" Kagome asked turning to face the miko.

Kaede's eyes met her own as she answered, "Kikyou."

**Vocab:**

Nibasha - wagon, cart

Inu - dog

Zouri - Japanese sandals

Sotoba- wooden grave tablet

Gomen nasai- I'm sorry

AN: Well, there ya go. Until next time -A.H.


End file.
